Fresh Loaf

What's got her so excited?

Speaking only for myself, the events of the past two weeks — at least those relating to the mayoral runoff — have certainly confounded expectations.

In the fortnight leading up to the Nov. 3 general election, Kasim Reed’s campaign pulled something of a rope-a-dope, implying that his opponents weren’t true Democrats. Both Mary Norwood and Lisa Borders took the bait, spending time and energy trying to establish their own Democratic credentials — an effort that likely lost them both some votes.

It was a masterfully divisive maneuver on Reed’s part, but I’ve talked to some voters who were disgusted by it for that very reason, folks who didn’t like seeing a wedge driven between political parties in a non-partisan race.

I assumed the runoff campaigning would get dirtier still. How could it not, given that Norwood seemed to have a lock on white Northside votes? It appeared the only way Reed could hope to win was by undermining Norwood’s curious popularity among black voters — and the only way to do that was to make race an issue in the race.

But I was mistaken. That’s not what has happened — at least, not yet. In fact, it’s been quite the reverse.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Reed, flanked by Barnes and Borders

So, as we know, ol’ Roy came out for Kasim Reed today on the steps of the Capitol.

Barnes lavished praise on Reed as a legislator for helping advance the then-governor’s progressive agenda, which included hate-crime laws and changing the state flag.

But the two words he used most often to tout Reed were noteworthy: “competent” and “qualified.”

Nobody — not with the campaign or with the press corps — mentioned Mary Norwood’s name, but it seemed fairly clear those two words were chosen to imply a distinction between the two candidates for mayor. (It’s a distinction we raised ourselves in endorsing Reed.)

(more…)

Bookmark It

Yesterday afternoon, the five or six Georgia journalists who still have jobs received an email from the John Oxendine campaign.

On Thursday night, the email said, the 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate would release a “‘new media’ advertisement” hitting Roy Barnes. A campaign spokesman said the ad “demonstrates John Oxendine’s commitment to using innovative, cutting-edge genre to communicate serious messages in creative mediums.”

The release included this hilarious paragraph:

The [event where the ad will be released] is being held at an undisclosed laser-tag facility and is closed to the public. After viewing the commercial, the volunteers will enjoy pizza and laser-tag.

Reporters were under strict orders not to publicize the advertisement until its formal release tonight at 7:20 p.m. Reporters complied. Not out of respect, really, but because we didn’t care.

This, my friends, is the cutting-edge technology, all four minutes of it:

If you don’t have the patience to listen to the man with the slow drawl talk about “Obama liberals” and choppy animations of “The Ox” headbutting a rat all the way to ole socialist France,  then we’ve provided screenshots for your enjoyment after the jump.

(more…)

Bookmark It

The electoral process is a beautiful thing. A virtual unknown with no name recognition or family connections can say he or she wants to serve the public, and then go on to do so, often times with little or no money. It’s happened before, it’ll happen again.

In Georgia, a part-time barrister from Mableton has decided he’d like to be governor. Sure, he doesn’t have much experience. Sure, he’s running against some big-name candidates. But Bill Laimbeer said it best: “Everyone should run for Georgia governor at least once in their lifetime.” Damn right, Bill. Damn right.

The dark horse candidate today launched something called a “World Wide Web site” and even posted this adorable video showing he doesn’t have a real campaign office or telephones. So cute!

(H/T to Gold Dome Live, a small blog operated by a community newspaper.)

Bookmark It

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine took to the Twitterverse earlier to announce he’d raised about $420,000 in his quest to become the GOP gubernatorial nominee. His campaign says he’s raised a total of $1.45 million to date and has “slightly over one million” cash on hand.

“John Oxendine’s positive message offering real solutions for the issues facing Georgia is clearly resonating with people all across the state,” said Tim Echols, campaign manager. “John Oxendine’s Contract with Georgia offers specific policy solutions the people of Georgia are looking for from a leader.”

Hmmm. Positive messages.

Last Thursday, Oxendine’s supporters heard a little bit of that positivity. In an email to fellow members of the Ox Army, the candidate asked supporters to scrounge up whatever coins they had in their couches, seal them in an email, and fax them to his campaign. The deadline for fund-raising reports was drawing near, Oxendine wrote, and he wanted to frighten his fellow elephants fighting for the nomination.

Sure, Oxendine touted the “Contract with Georgia” you’ll be hearing a lot about. But he also looked into the future, saw that former Gov. Roy Barnes had won the Democrat nomination, and decided it was time for some scare tactics!

(more…)

Bookmark It

The last time he ran, he was clobbered by a little-known challenger with a fraction of the funding. It’s been nearly eight years since his name appeared on a ballot. And the state became decidedly redder in the meantime.

By most standards, ex-Gov. Roy Barnes should be a political has-been.

But the reality is that, during the months he spent deciding whether to try to get his old job back, Barnes was seen as the 800-pound gorilla lurking over the governor’s race. Now that he’s officially thrown his hat into the ring, he’s almost universally viewed as the instant front-runner — insofar as that term has any real meaning a full year before the Democratic primary.

On the face of it, the celebrated re-run of Roy Barnes is arguably evidence that the Georgia Democratic Party is in a woeful state. When a defeated former governor — even one with legendary charisma and proven fundraising ability — can set aside his elder statesman duties and immediately vault to the front of the pack running for the state’s highest post, that doesn’t speak well for his party’s depth of electable talent.

Still, there’s reason to believe that the Barnes candidacy could help give the Democrats their best shot at recapturing the Governor’s Mansion, as well as several other statewide seats. And even if Barnes isn’t his party’s nominee, says Emory political science professor Alan Abramowitz, “It looks like the Democrats have a decent shot at winning back the governor’s office.”

Continue reading “Roy Barnes’ bid for governor reshapes the political landscape”

Bookmark It

1. The word is a ‘ghetto’ (We posed a question to readers — Is the word “ghetto” so off limits it’s become, um, ghettoized? — and y’all had some interesting things to say. Thanks!)

2. Atlanta: America’s ’second least safe city’? (The stats suggest that could be the case, but some aren’t so sure.)

3. Roy Barnes: Tanned, rested and ready (Barnes is baaaaaaaack! And the governor’s race is about to get a helluva lot more interesting.)

4. Biden to Perdue on rail funding: ‘Georgia gets nothing’ (VP: Just joshin’, Sonny!)

5. Less-than-fond memories of Barnes’ first term (Not everyone is enamored of the former guv and his bid to get his old job back.)

*This blog post has been edited to correct an error.

Bookmark It

As Thomas “gluten-free” Wheatley and others noted earlier, Democrat Roy Barnes is running for governor.

Barnes held the governorship from 1999 to 2003. His re-election bid was thwarted in 2002 by a then-obscure raindancing fisherman from central Georgia named George Perdue. Please, call him Sonny.

Metro Atlantans have some good reasons to be excited about Barnes.

He’s smart. He’s experienced. He’s won statewide office already.

And perhaps most importantly, he’s more likely than anyone seeking the governorship to break the militant, city-hatin’ Georgia GOP’s chokehold on metro Atlanta.

But before we get our hopes up too much, let’s remember: Barnes four-year governorship wasn’t just bad. It was tragic.

Barnes began his governorship with astonishing promise.

From consumer-friendly healthcare reform, tax cuts, open-government rules, Roy had it goin’ on.

The most impressive of his early accomplishments was the creation of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, a metro-wide agency that promised to at last impose sanity on Georgia’s unsustainable, sprawling growth.

Here’s what the Economist said in July 1999:

No other governor in the country has anything approaching [GRTA]—but then few cities have built new roads with anything approaching Atlanta’s abandon.

Under the GRTA (widely translated as “Give Roy Total Authority”), Mr Barnes can exercise complete control over transport and development in the 20 counties that make up the Atlanta metropolitan area, as well as in any other part of the state that falls out of compliance with anti-pollution requirements. This bill also contains a political masterstroke: it gives the governor the right to veto actions by the state Department of Transportation, which has been a law unto itself for much of this century.

So what happened?

Like in any good tragedy, it was Barnes’ strength that did him in. He over-reached.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Now that Roy Barnes has jumped in the 2010 governor’s race, where does that leave other Democratic challengers who’ve already announced their plans? Here’s what we’re hearing from little birds that land on our windowsill, chirp silly songs, and blurt rays of gossipy sunshine into our dark and twisted lives:

• Attorney General Thurbert Baker: Our tipsters tell us that Baker was apparently waiting to hear whether Barnes would run to decide a.) to bow out of the race and join a big-name law firm or b.) make a run for — hold on to your courageous haircuts — U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat. Which, judging by Johnny Boy’s popularity in the state, might be the same as dropping out of public service. Longtime political gadfly Tom Houck, who recently floated the idea that retiring Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears might make a run for governor, relays an overnight rumor that Baker could get a Federal judgeship and drop out of the race. High-ranking Democratic Party officials say they’d like to see Baker in a statewide campaign, however.



• House Minority Leader Dubose Porter, D-Dublin: The state House veteran lightly ribbed Barnes when the former governor was reportedly still on the fence. From what we’re hearing, Porter still wants to make a run for governor. But he’s got a tough slog ahead of him. Pundits say it’ll take at least $3 million to run a primary campaign against Barnes. If you survive that battle, you better be prepared to raise as much as $12 million for the general election. There’s also talk Porter should make a go at Speaker.




• David Poythress: The Georgia National Guard Adjutant General is in it to win it, he says. Our tipsters said the same. He even took a shot at Barnes, calling him a “polarizing figure.”

How Barnes’ announcement affects downticket races remains to be seen. We’re hearing Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond — “a team player,” one li’l birdie says — might make another run for his seat. He’d been rumored to be considering a run for lieutenant governor. “Whatever’s the best for the party, Thurmond will do,” our source says.

(Photos by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Jim Galloway reports:

Roy Barnes will announce today that he intends to become the first former Georgia governor in a half-century to reclaim the office after being turned out by voters.

The announcement is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Marietta. Barnes, we’re told, will delay the actual start of his campaign until July, in order to wrap up some trial work and finish up as chairman of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Barnes, 61, enters a field already occupied by three Democrats — Attorney General Thurbert Baker, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, and David Poythress, former commander of the Georgia National Guard.
…

Polling in anticipation of a Barnes return indicates the former governor becomes the immediate favorite in the primary, though he also carries the burdens that caused voters to reject his bid for a second term — teachers who resented his attack on a tenure system, Confederate enthusiasts angered by his hauling down the ’56 state flag, and residents found themselves the path of a now- defunct Northern Arc.

Check out Galloway’s full post for more information and background. Insider Advantage’s Dick Pettys notes Barnes just might face off with some of the same political strategists who helped launch Gov. Sonny Perdue into the West Paces Ferry residence.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

Polling organization Rasmussen Reports says:

The majority of voters in Georgia (53%) say Republican Governor Sonny Perdue is not doing enough to help them through the economic recession, though he still earns fairly positive reviews.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state found that one in four voters (25%) say the governor is doing enough for Georgians, while another 22% remain undecided.

…

Still, more than half of voters (57%) approve of the way Perdue is handling his job as governor, while 39% disapprove.

The menz like duh govnuh. The ladies say “meh.” Also:

The early frontrunners among Republicans for the 2010 governor race in Georgia are Casey Cagle and John Oxendine. Cagle is currently serving as lieutenant governor, and Oxendine is the state insurance commissioner. Both men are favored by 14% of Republicans.

Among Democrats, former Governor Roy Barnes leads the pack of 2010 contenders with 28% support. Twenty-two percent (22%) of Democrats would consider voting for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin for governor.

Check out the full rundown of responses. Among them: Barack Obama will do a better job as president than George W. Bush and native son Jimmy Carter.

Bookmark It

Former Gov. Roy Barnes, state Rep. Stacey Abrams and Red Clay Democrat Shyam Reddy will headline a “get-out-the-vote” fundraiser at Manuel’s Tavern this Thursday, 7-9 p.m. The event is hosted by the Vote From Home, a political action committee that wants to secure 10,000 early voters in Ohio to help turn the crucial state for Democrats in the November presidential election.

It’s free and open to the public. I may attend, which could be frightening, as I’ve been told Barnes and I look very similar.

UPDATE: The event is open to the public, but it’s not free. Tickets are $50, $25 for students. A spokesperson says Barnes will speak and it’ll be an informal affair.

Bookmark It

Check out former Gov. Roy Barnes’ eloquent column in this week’s Creative Loafing “Secession” cover package, lamenting the not-too-distant past when:

The Atlanta region and the state were long and deep in leadership, and it paid off with huge dividends. Cigar-chomping Tom Murphy could laugh about Atlanta folks, but he was shrewd enough to understand that multimillion-dollar investments had to be made by the state in such facilities as the World Congress Center. In the ebb and flow of politics and reality, everyone cussed Atlanta but understood that for Georgia to prosper, and produce extra money to spend out in the state, Atlanta had to prosper.

Barnes’ criticism of the current “petty politics of petty politicians” can be taken as sour grapes. Fair enough. It’s gotta be difficult to watch Sonny Perdue petulantly misgovern Georgia after having lost an election to him.

But I’m impressed by Barnes’ honesty and optimism. The former reminds me that he’s vowed never to run for public office again; the latter makes me think he’s one of the few people who could pull the state out of it’s current rut.

Bookmark It